Recent posts on LinkedIn about critical risk management have garnered a lot of interest, which seems to suggest there is a need for some clarity for people.
A couple of questions were raised in those discussions about the fundamental nature of critical risk management. Why is it there and where did it come from? It doesn’t appear to be mandated anywhere (at least not that I can find) but there is a lot of discussion about it that was not so apparent, say, ten years ago. Here in New Zealand, it also recently featured prominently in a high-profile landmark case where a chief executive was prosecuted.
So, before getting into all the detail about process, practices, tools and techniques, there is a somewhat more basic need – which is to understand what it’s all about.
It seems to be very much industry-led to me, rather than legislatively driven. I haven’t delved into the history of it in any detail, but from what I have seen, it seems to arise from two related areas:
- An attempt to bring process safety style discipline and approaches to broader occupational safety and
- A reaction to years of focusing on minor injuries in an attempt to magically fix more significant ones through a misguided interpretation of Heinrich (see “The Triangular Fallacy” in Challenging the Safety Quo)
Both result in a strong focus on major accident potential (however defined) and how to manage that effectively.
So, that is all critical risk management is. What is the big stuff and how do we stop it going bang, crash, snap, thud or squish?
When I work with Boards and Executive teams, I challenge them to answer four simple questions, and these go to the heart of critical risk management. As a safety person (and as a fully informed executive), there is a lot more technical depth to go into, but it is still worthwhile asking these questions to see if your risk management process is well-positioned.
- What are your critical risks?
- How are they controlled?
- How effective are these controls?
- What is the basis for that effectiveness rating and is it sound?
Ask yourself these and really dig into that final question. You may think the controls are effective, but do you genuinely know?
Our forthcoming guide and toolkit for critical risk management will give practical ways of doing this and making sure that the answers to those questions are positive. Don’t forget to subscribe below for updates so you don’t miss it when it’s launched.